


It Haunts Me

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [10]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Distractions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt, Villain Dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 02:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8872381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: nymous  asked: Just moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooore (villain!Dick). Whatever you can think of. (Tho some happy jaydick would be nice)------------Dick wakes up in the middle of the night and Jason has the perfect distraction. Takes place after Glimmer of Possibilities.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I present happy-ish JayDick in the villain!Dick universe! Enjoy!

_It thumped in his chest. Wildly and loudly. A heavy tattoo beating against his ribs in a desperate attempt to break free. It pulsed an unsteady rhythm. Violent, unyielding, relentless. A seemingly never-ending cycle driving him to the brink of madness. A precarious edge he craved to have crumble beneath his feet to end the constant torment. So close, but so far away._

_Over the sound of it thumping, pounding, beating, there were voice. Screaming and yelling and demanding. Male or female, he didn’t know and he didn’t care. The only thing he knew was he hated the voices. The voices meant pain. They brought it with them, like a dark cloud lingering constantly around them. Pain followed them, a loyal companion. It made it inevitable. The constant pounding, thumping, thudding, beating. They did this, created this feeling._

_He hated them all._

_Between one beat and the next it came. The pain coursing through his entire body, lighting every nerve on fire. Lightening striking his body over and over and over again. Flashes of light and sound and feeling, but nothing constant, except the thumping. It beats and beats and his chest must be about to burst open. He can feel the bone starting to break, his skin beginning to split, and pressure. A building pressure begging for release._

_It doesn’t come. It never comes. It just plateaus and leaves him there. It filled his chest and stayed. The pressure became just as relentless as the thumping and just as painful. He hated it and them and everyone. He’d dedicated his life to saving them, to helping people, and where were they when he needed them? Where was his savior? Where was help when he needed it?_

_There was no one, only him and them and pain. No hero to save the day, no shining light in the dark, no way to escape. Hope died or went extinct or stopped believing in him. Whatever the case may be, it didn’t matter because hope abandoned him. Left him chained in the dark with nothing but pain as company._

_And the rapid beating of his heart in his chest._

* * *

 

“Are you awake now?” Jason’s familiar deep, sleepy voice relaxed some of the tension in Dick’s body, but didn’t stop the pounding in his chest. “You don’t have to say anything. I know what it’s like. Keep breathing.”

“I want them to go away! Why won’t they go away?”

“Because that’s what they do. They linger. That’s all they know how to do.”

“I killed them. Every single one of them and they’re still here! How do I make them go away? I need them to go away.”

“I don’t know.”

Even though he knew it would be uncomfortable, Dick dug his chin into Jason’s chest so he could see his eyes. “Do you think they ever go away?”

“Doubt it.”

“Comforting.”

“Is that what you were looking for? Probably shouldn’t have asked that then. I know how pissy you get when I lie to you.”

“Then do something that will distract me.”

“Guess that means you’re not going back to sleep.”

“Not tired.”

“Yes, you are.” A rough thumb ran under Dick’s eye, then swept slowly down his cheek. “You can go back to sleep. I’m not going to leave.”

“Can’t. I’m too awake now. If you’re tired, I can go blow off some steam.”

“How often do you do that without me noticing?”

“How often do you?”

“We’re not talking about me right now.”

“Then what are we doing.”

Jason let out a little hum, then sat up without any warning, nearly sending Dick to the floor in the process. “Depends.”

“On?”

“Whether you want to leave or not.”

“What exactly did you have in mind?”

“That’s a surprise. You up for it?”

“Let me grab my coat.”

* * *

 

Despite the fact he was wearing a pair of gloves, his hands were freezing in the cold Gotham night air. He gladly accepted the warm cup of hot chocolate from Jason and let out a sigh of relief when it started to heat up his trembling fingers. The small strings of lights lining the windows of the many businesses and strung between the lampposts illuminated the sharp lines of Jason’s face, making him look older. It contrasted greatly with the childish delight that lit up his eyes when he took a small swig of hot chocolate.

“Is this all you had planned?”

“Is it working?” Dick shrugged his shoulders casually and started meandering slowly down the street. “When I first got back, I used to get nightmares all the time. I got nightmares before, but being back here made them… more vivid. Staying in would drive me crazy, so I would go out. It didn’t matter where. The space helped.”

“Thanks for doing this.”

“I promised you I wouldn’t leave. It doesn’t matter if you wake me up every night with a nightmare. I’ll be there to help you through it.”

“How romantic.”

“Since when do we do romantic?”

A little chuckle slipped through Dick’s lips as he looped his arm through the one Jason had tucked away in his pocket. “A moonlit stroll through the streets of Gotham seems a little romantic, not that I care. Getting out helped. I don’t feel so trapped now.”

“Glad it worked.”

“They would keep me chained up in a dark room. That’s what my nightmare was about. Being trapped in that room.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, don’t. Talk when you’re ready.”

“Wasn’t planning on telling you anything else. I don’t have to tell you anything if I don’t want to.”

“Good. I don’t want you to push yourself. It’ll just make things worse.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Yes.” Jason abruptly halted and pulled Dick into his body. “There’s an ice cream shop down the street that stays open late. Want to go?”

“It’s the middle of winter and you want to have ice cream?”

“What else would we do at four in the morning?”

“Sleep.”

“Too late for that, but it’s never too late or early for ice cream.”

“You’re paying.”

Jason swooped down to steal a quick kiss and started pulling Dick in the opposite direction. “That means I get to pick flavors.”

“Fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'm taking prompts on my Tumblr (sociallyawkwardfoxwriter), so if you have a prompt you want done head over there! Have a great day.


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